Draft gear for railway cars



WRIGLEY July 24, 1923 Y HQ l.

DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed June 1919 A 2 sheets-Sheet 1 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. l. WRIGLEY DRAFT GEAR FOR` RAILWAY CARS .Filed June l3 July 24, 1923 Patented July 24, 1923.

UNITED STATESg taaie PATENT oFicE.

HENRY I. WEIGLEY, or cnIcAGc, ILLINOIS, AssIeNoE To UNIVERSAL DEAET GEAR IDllEtAIET GEAR FOR RAILWAY CARS.

App1caton filed JuneS, 1919. Serial No. 301,467.`

To all whom/t may Gomera.'`

Be it known that I, HENRY I. i/VRIGLEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft Gears for Railway Cars, of which the following isa specification, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The invention appertains to the tandem type of draft gear in which two sets of cushioning elements are employed, being arranged in alignment.

The objects of the invention are to generally improve upon and simplify this type of draftgear.

The invention consists in a structure such as hereinafter described and as illustrated inv the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a side elevation of the draft gear, the drawbar and its extension or yoke being shown in detail;

Fig. 2 is a plan section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 1, showing a modification;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig.

-4; and

-to and incloses the gear proper is shown The improved draft gear comprises a pair of followers 16, 17, the one cooperating with the draft shoulders 12, 12, and the other with the bufling shoulders 13, 13. From each of these followers there` projects inwardly, that is to say toward the other follower, a pair of side plates, those associated with `the follower 16 bein shown at 18, 19, and those associated with t e follower 17 being shown at 20, 21.

Arms 22, 23, project inwardly from the median portion of each of theside plates 18, 19, and at their extreme Aends are united by` a cross plate 24. Arms` 25, 26, extend from the top and bottom portions, respectively, of the side plate21, and like arms extend from the top and bottom portions of the plate 20, the lower `arms only, 27,V associated with the plate 20 appearing in solid lines in the drawings; the upper arm, 28, associated with the plate 2O being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Cross plates 29, 30, unite, respectively, the ends of the upper arms 25, 28, and the lower arms 26, 27. The arms associated with the plates 20, 21, are spaced apart to freely receive therebetween the arms 22, 23, associated with the plates 18, 19. These arms must bear the full load of the car and resist the shocks incident to the starting, stopping and travel of the same, at all times, and since the force exerted tends to compress the arms instead of to extend the same, it is necessary that these arms be made sufficiently strong to resist distortion.v In order not to unnecessarily increase the amount of material which would add to the cost of manufacture and weight of these articles, the plates are made comparatively light and are reinforced with laterally extending flanges which extend along the plates and the arms attached thereto. The flanges on the arms 25, 26, 27 and 28 are arranged on the adjacent edges thereof, whereby the flanges not only reinforce these arms but also form a broad bearing surface for the cross plate 24.

The cushioning elements are interposed between the followers, and the cross plates are interposed each between one of the followers and the cross plate or plates associated with the other follower. In the exn emplification of the device shown in the drawings, these cushioning elements take the form of springs, as 31, 32, the former being interposed between the follower 16 and the cross plates 29, 30, and the latter being interposed between the follower 17 and the cross plate 24. When the gear is at rest the two followers are in engagement with the draft and buting lugs, and the cushioning elements are fully expanded.

In draft the follower is drawn forwardly by the yoke 15, compressing the spring 32 against the plate 24, and the plates 29, 30, compressing the spring 31 against the forward follower 16. In bufing the action is reversed the spring 31 being compressed againStLtheplatesQQ, 30, andi the-spring. 32

being compressed by the plate 24: against `the Y follower 17. The gear reaches the limit of its'compr'e'ssive move-me nt"wlien tbeends of the arms associated with each p'air'o'fplates" prises?V the Y addition .fofwspring seating plates 331, 34; interposedibetweenplates 24 and-BO and theirrespective springs'l and 32. The` object of these seating'plates is to. furnish `a bearing'orseat for the entire end ofeach sp1ing,\insteadof only a portion thereof,

asinlathevform shown: in Figs-1, 2 and-53.`

The; operation'of the modificationisf in all respects similar to that of the first described l'orrrnr` Y.

Ifo'laim asimy invention; t

Ina draft gear for railway cars, a pair of opposed followers, an *integralV spring enclosurel on e'a cli follower; `veacl'ie'nclosare;v eror'n p'rising "side plates" a'ndl cross members, a pair of spaced arms extending forwardly from each side plate of one of said enclosures, reinfforcingribs extending along said plates and the adjacent marginal edges of said arms, a pair ofi-arms havin-greinforcedV ribs extending rearwardlyn from the side platesof theyotherf enclosure between said first named- 'armsf and engaging'v said flanges, across member lor,` each pair of arms', seating r platesv engaging said cross member, and springsin each enclosure lbetween the followers and the seating pla-tes.- HENRY I. WVRIGLEY. Y 

